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Larger than Life: Deification in Propaganda

One of the more fascinating practices in propaganda is the practice of deification. This does not necessarily mean that the propagandists turn the figure into a god. While sometimes the propaganda does turn them into a god most of the time it means turning the person into, a superman, a champion of rights and liberty, who can do no wrong. Despite how old fashioned it sounds, this tactic still continues to today. For example, Democrats have done this with JFK and Republicans have done this with Ronald Reagan. However, in this paper I will be talking about four different classes of deification propaganda: Hitler and the Nuremberg rallies, Kim Jung Un and the painting made of him, Stalin and the poster that was made to make him look like a father, and lastly the U.S. Presidents and having their faces on coins. This paper will look at how these pieces are propaganda that deify their subject matters and what that means.

One of the major factors in Nazi Germany’s success was propaganda. The Nazis built a very impressive propaganda machine that is one of the best to ever be constructed. Central to this propaganda machine was what Bytwerk calls the secular faith of National Socialism. Bytwerk describes this secular religion as a “religious cult whose founder still walked among the faithful,” (Bytwerk,14). This cult presented Hitler as the god-like super human who would bring Germany into the new age as a strong world power. His cult did have an almost religious reverence for him with its own kind of holidays, shrines and ways of worship. This religious aspect was not just a small section of the community, but was widespread with all Germans being encouraged to honor their leader. Perhaps though the smartest piece of propaganda Hitler did to cement himself as a human god was the Nuremberg rallies and the subsequent film Triumph of the Will. These were the annual rallies for the Nazi party. The entire event was propaganda, and the film was even more so. In the movie Hitler’s arrival by airplane is shown flying ethereally through the clouds accompanied by odd almost religious music. The film also uses close up or from below shots so as to over emphasis his size making him look as big as a god. It also at one point has light emanating from him as he is in his motorcade. The actual event itself with its loud music chants and huge Nazi banners also helped create this idea of a religious event and make Hitler out to be some sort of god. Many of the speeches spoken included words like “Hitler is Germany, Germany is Hitler,” (Bytwerk, 16). Thus, there was very little room for interpretation in these propaganda pieces. It is quite clear to the German people that Hitler was a god or some powerful mythological figure.

Perhaps the biggest challengers to Nazi Germany’s impressive propaganda system is North Korea which has managed to build a propaganda state. One way that they are exactly the same as Germany is that they also have a personality cult centered around their leaders. This personality cult has remarkably survived all the way from Kim Il-sung who was in power from 1948 until 2016. That marks 68 years of a propaganda state, whose personality cult borders on the absurd, a remarkable feat to be sure. After all the leader of North Korea is supposed to be referred to as supreme leader. It is worth pointing out that despite the fact that North Korea has kind of become a joke in recent years in the United States, it is still a terrifying country full of human rights violations. A place where defying the whim of the country and its leader is punishable by death and it is probably this that causes there to be such as strong personality cult. A good example of this cult is the painting The Liberator of Korea made for a Russian legislator and believed to be a gift for Kim Jong-un the current leader of North Korea. In terms of portraying Kim Jong-un as a god the poster accomplishes that spectacularly. Firstly, there is the position of him on the horse which is very reminiscent of generals or heroes successful in combat and posing triumphantly. With his hand triumphantly held up it reminds us of people like Julius Caesar or Alexander the Great and mythologized heroes. The two statues in the background are part of an arch that depicts a united Korea (presumably under Kim Jung-un) cleverly positioned so that the unified Korea seems to hover over his head making the visual hint that here is the great hero who will unite all of Korea. There is also the fact that underneath his horse’s majestic hooves are the muddy and beaten flags of the U.S.A. and South Korea. Further proof that Kim Jung-un will be the glorious leader who will defeat the evil power of capitalism and unite Korea again.

Stalin had a personality cult very similar to both Hitler and Kim Jung-un. He was positioned more as a father figure who had created the glorious Soviet Union and to whom all the proletariat owed their undying affection. This idea of Stalin as a watchful father figure is really hammered home by the poster Stalin the Father. This poster features a diligent Stalin working in the wee hours of the night while a red star presumably representing communism hovers in the background. The poster itself features the words “Stalin in the Kremlin cares about each of us.”. This seems to portray Stalin as a diligent worker willing to sacrifice his own personal time in order to make sure the public are safe and security. It was suggested by Dan McCrakin that he might even be compared to a Santa Claus like figure. A fatherly figure who makes sure that those on his list are safe and secure. This poster is interesting because unlike the previous two examples, it does not make ridiculous claims or have odd visuals. Rather it is simply supposed to remind us of how hard Stalin is working for his people. It also seems like it is supposed to provide a relaxing feeling of safety as if to say, don’t worry Stalin is looking out for you, further hammering home this idea of Stalin as a watchful father figure protecting his children.

Lastly a controversial topic is how we deify or mythologize our Founding Fathers and presidents. While many would probably deny it and present countless facts or statistics against it, but the United States does deify their Founding Fathers and presidents. For example, consider how many times the Founding Fathers are brought up in debates such as what would the Founding Fathers say. This seems a bit like hero worship or deification. However, one of the more interesting ways that this is done is through our money. We have presidents like Abraham Lincoln and George Washington adorning our cash. This may seem like a small gesture, but when one gives it thought it becomes insanely important whose face is on money. It may seem that all countries have rulers or leaders on their money but actually they do not anymore. Countries like the United Kingdom now have money with figures like Charles Darwin on it. Figures who are notable for accomplishments other than being leaders of the country. While we are moving towards that with the placement of Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, the backlash it has caused seems to prove that many still hold money as a sacred thing and that only certain kinds of people should be able to adorn it.

Now despite the fact that deification is a very common tactic among propaganda machines, the methods deification are quite different. In the case of Hitler and the Nuremberg rallies the words were quite straight forward with language normally reserved for a deity being used, shrines and shots that made Hitler seem like some sort of superhuman. North Korea’s propaganda is very similar as Kim Jong-un is portrayed as a savior of Korea who will unify the two warring Koreas into one glorious state. While Stalin had a similar personality cult, the poster of Stalin as the Father is very different. Here the deification is not so obvious and here Stalin is portrayed not as much as a god but rather more like a watchful father protecting his children. Lastly there is the idea of the Founding Fathers and presidents on the coins deifying them. While this is not controversial, seeing someone’s face on your money does seem to imply that they are special and the arguments against placing someone else on the money seem to center around the idea that they are special American heroes. Thus, while most countries seem to deify their leaders it seems to be done in very different ways that emphasize very different aspects and appear to be a sign of the culture they represent.